Towards non-animal testing with TOX FLOW

By means of the TOX FLOW project we want to develop animal-free testing methods to predict the influence of toxic substances on the reproduction and development of embryos.

Using animal testing to test the many different chemicals takes a lot of time and money. Companies and governments are therefore asking for reliable non-animal testing methods to be developed, that also need to be accepted by regulatory authorities in Europe (and beyond).

We put the insights from our research into practice by means of:

• making standard procedures available for the various testing methods; 
• writing scientific articles and delivering presentations for researchers, companies and governments;
• the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which is also intended to stimulate economic growth. There is a lot of interest for the commercial application of the results;
• providing protocols and internships for bachelor students.
  
  

01 December 2018 - 31 December 2022

For this project, methods that were developed previously (the C elegans worm, zebrafish embryos and stem cells) are combined with in-vitro skin models to test the effects of complex compounds. Skin models are used to measure the exposure to these substances through the skin.

This research is important for companies that develop (chemical) products or have their products tested via animal testing methods by contract research organisations (CROs).

This research project is a follow-up to the PreDART project. DART stands for Development And Reproduction Toxicology and is also referred to as development and reproduction toxicology. Virtually all companies in the chemical industry are obliged to test their products in accordance with DART, due to the European REACH law.